Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the term used to describe the strength with which your blood pushes on the sides of your arteries as it’s pumped around your body.

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers;

• Systolic pressure. This is the higher of the two numbers. It’s the pressure against your arteries when your heart is pumping blood around your body.
• Diastolic pressure. This is the lower of the two numbers. It shows how much pressure is in your arteries when your heart relaxes between beats.

Low blood pressure (hypotension) is not usually a problem, although it can cause dizziness and fainting in some people.

High blood pressure (hypertension) can increase your risk of developing serious problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, if it’s not treated.

If your GP or other healthcare professional suspects a raised blood pressure you may be asked to monitor your blood pressure. Some people experience raised blood pressure readings in a healthcare setting, such as in a GP’s consulting room, due to anxiety.

For this reason we ask you to monitor your blood pressure in your own home in an environment you are comfortable with.

You’ll need to measure your blood pressure twice in the morning and twice in the evening for 7 days, recording only the lowest of the two readings from each morning and only the lowest of the two readings from each evening. For example, if you took two readings on a morning measuring 100/70 and 90/60, you would record 90/60.

You’ll be provided with a blood pressure monitoring device and a paper form to record your daily blood pressure readings. If you need another form, you can download one here for printing at home.

You can calculate your average blood pressure for the 7 days of monitoring using this tool.

You can submit your blood pressure reading(s) using this form. The reading can be from either a single test or the average of many tests. You can use this tool to calculate your average blood pressure from 7 days of monitoring.